Harness motion for looms



Aug. 13, 1929. Q R HOWARD 1,724,283

HARNESS MOTION FOR LOOMS Filed Nov. 25, 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet l Char/a9 A. [Yam 0rd Aug. '13, 1929.

c:. R, HOWARD 1,724,283

HARNESS MOTION FOR LOOMS Filed Nov. 25, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 5130:;34 aaw l 51 \v I1 i N g :3 I

1' Y 1 I. l

WYM

filter/lens 1929- I c. R. HOWARD 1,724,283

HARNESS MOTION FOR LOOMS Filed NOV- 1927 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 afar/e5 1 1? fiawam Patented Aug. 13, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. HOWARD, OF \VORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO CROMPTON 80 KNOIVLES LOOM WORKS, 013 WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

HARNESS MOTION FOR LOOMS.

Application filed November 25, 1927. Serial No. 235,662.

This invention relates to improvements in harness motions for looms and it is the general object of the invention to provide means whereby the ti me of operation of the harness frames may be changed so that the cycle of movement can be completed in a fewer or greater number of picks of the loom as desired.

The invention is set forth in connection with a Terry towel loom although it is not limited to this type of fabric. In a Terry towel loom the body of the towel is made of Terry fabric while the border may be made of non-pile fabric or pile and nonpile mixed. It is customary to weave ordinary towels with a so-called three pick Terry which means that for every third pick of the loom there will be incorporated into the body of the towel a row of loops or piles. It not infrequently hap )ens that a border is desired having a so-cal ed two up and. two down pattern. \Vhile weaving Terry the ground harnesses will be shifted every third pick, the filling being held by the pile warps which are controlled by a pattern mechanism such as a jacquard, but when weaving a two up and two down border the harnesses for the ground warp are in raised position for two picks and are then shifted to the opposite position for two more picks, the cycle being four picks. There is a time, therefore, when the cycle of the harness motion is three picks when weaving Terry and another time when the cycle is four picks when weaving the border and it is an important object of my invention to provide change mechanism whereby the harnesses may be controlled either by a three or a four pick motion, the shift from one to the other being under control of a pattern mechanism. \Vhile I have given as an example the weaving of fabric having three pick Terry and two up and two down border, yet I do not wish to be limited to these characters of fabrics as they are merely illustrative of the uses to which my invention may be put.

It is a further object of .my invention to provide a pair of regularly moving members or levers each completing its cycle of movement in a different number of picks coupled with means for attaching these members one at a time to the harness mechanism of the loom.

IVith these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings wherein one form of myinvention is shown,

F g. 1 is a rear elevation of a loom having my invention applied thereto, certain parts being broken away for the sake of clearness,

Fig. 2 is an end elevation taken in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1, certain parts he mg removed,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on line 33 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4: is a top plan view of the mechanism shown in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a vertical section on an enlarged scale on line 55 of Fig. 2, and

Figs. 6 and 7 are details of the cams used to weave the body and border, respectively, of a fabric of the type previously mentioned.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 and 2 the loom 10 is provided with ground and pile warp beams 11 and 12, respectively, the ground warp G of the beam 11 passing over a whip roll 13 and being divided between rear and front harness frames 1 1 and 15, respectively. The Terry warp T from the beam 12 extends forwardly and may be controlled by a jacquard pattern mechanism indicated diagrammatically at J, Fig. 1, to form any figures which may be desired in the fabric. The frames 14 and 15 are connected together by straps 16 which extend over rollers 17 carried by an oscillatable shaft 18 supported by fixed bearings 19 rigid with the loom frame.

The loom is provided with abottom shaft 20 which makes a revolution every second pick of the loom to actuate a picking motion not shown. The Terry forming mechanism has been omitted but may be substantially the same as shown in patent to Bardsley No. 987,139 and the controls for the Terry warps T have been omitted from Fi 2 as they are well understood. The matter thus far described is of common construction in Terry towel looms and forms no part of my present invention.

In carrying my invention into effect I provide a frame secured to the girts 31 of the loom and mount therein for rotation a stub shaft 32 which as shown in Figs. 2 and 5 is under the bottom shaft 20. The

means for driving said shaft 32 includes a pinion 33' keyed to the bottom shaft 20 and meshing with a gear 34 keyed as indicated in Fig. 5 to the stub shaft 32. By this connection and with the ratio of gearing indicated the bottom shaft will cause the stub shaft to have a complete revolution every four picks of the loom.

Keyed also to the bottom shaft is a cone gear 35 having steps 36, 37 and 38, respectively, of different diameters. One of said steps, the step 37 shown herein, meshes with a gear 39 keyed as at 40 to the hub 41 of a cam 42. The ratio between the step 37 and gear 39 is such that the cam 42 makes a complete revolution every third pick of the loom- A second cam 43 is keyed to the stub shaft 32 as at 44 in Fig. 5 and therefore has a complete movement every fourth pick of the loom.

, Each of said cams cooperates with a member or lever, said cam 42 cooperating with member 45 while cam 43 cooperates with member 46. Said members 45 and 46 have hubs 47 and 48, respectively, through which extends a supporting pin 49 carried by bracket 50 extending rearwardly from one of the cross girts 31 as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. Each member or lever has attached thereto a tension spring 51 the upper end 7 of which is connected to fixed structure 52, said springs tending to lift the members 45 and 46 to hold the same against the faces of the cams when being actuated by the latter. When member 45 is opposite the low part of cam. 42 said lever will be held by its spring 51 in engagement with a stop screw 53 and likewise member 46 when opposite the low part of cam 43 will be limited as to its upward movement under influence of its spring 51 by' a stop screw 54. These stop screws are held in fixed but adjustable position on the frame 30 and are the means by which said members may be accurately positioned vertically for a purpose to be described.

The right hand ends of the members 45 as viewed in Fig. 4 are guided by slots 55 formed in a guide 56 secured to the frame 30. A tension spring 57 has the lower end secured as at 58 to the guide 56 and has the upper end thereof secured as at 59 to the harness 14, the effect of said spring 57 being to move the strap 16 around the shaft 18 in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 so as to lower harness frame 14 and raise the other harness frame 15. Member 45 is provided with an elongated slot 60 while member 46 is provided with a corresponding slot 61. Each member may be formed as shown in Fig. 3 with a shoe 62 held in position by a set. screw 63 ina wedge-shaped pocket 64 formed on the member. The shoe cooperates. with the corresponding cam and may be replaced when worn.

The mechanism which actually imparts motion to the harness frames 14 and 15 includes a treadle lever 65 pivoted to the pin 49 intermediate the hubs '47 and 48 and key has a head 71 proportioned to enter the slot 61 in member 46 and has'a second head 72 proportioned for cooperation with member 45 when entering slot 60. In order to determine the position of the key 69 there is provided an arm 73 rigid therewith to which is connected a pull rod 74 shown particularly in Fig. 1. A tension spring 75 interposed between a portion of the frame 10' and the arm 73 tends normally to hold the head 72 in the slot 60 with the parts in the position shown in Fig.4.

The rod 74 is connected to a bell crank lever 7 6 which is rocked by a vertical rod 77 connected to a second bell crank lever 78. The latter lever is actuated by a rod 79 moved by a mechanism indicated generally at I, said mechanism I being the well-known so-called jacquard indicator such as is shown in Patent No. 1,626,723. It is sufiicientfor the purpose of my present invention to state that the jacks 80 and 81 indicated diagrammatically herein form part of the jacquard mechanism J and determine whether the rod 79 shall move to the right or the left. The pattern mechanism indicated herein is 9. acquard, but I do not wish to be limited to a jacquard as any one of the wellknown pattern mechanisms can be employed to control the position and movement of the rod 71.

In operation and with the parts in the position shown in the drawings particularly in Fig. 4 the members or levers 45 and 46 will be given regular movements, member 45 receiving a downward motion each third pick of the loom and the member 46 being down for two picks and then up for two picks so that said members have respectively three and four pick movements. As shown in Fig. 4 member 45- is in operative contact with head 72 and therefore moves the key 69 and together with itthe treadle lever 65. By these connections the harness frame 15 will be pulled down. for one pick and will be up for two picks, the spring 57 moving. the harnem frame 14 to correspondingly opposite positions. The parts are in this position when weaving the body of a three pick Terry and will continue in this position until the rod 79 is moved to the left by the upward movement of jack 81. When this takes place the rod 74 will move arm 73 and the head 72 will move out of slot 60 and the head 71 will move into slot 61 of the member or lever 46. It is important to notice that the loom is so timed that this shift from one of the actuator levers to the other takes place when both of said levers are in raised position' and held in proper position by the stop screws 53 and 54. It is by means of these screws that the slots in the actuator levers may be positioned for proper entry by the corresponding key heads 71 and 72. To permit the adjustments of the actuator levers the low parts of the cams are out of engagement with the shoes so that the adjusting screws may function to place the actuator levers.

After the key has been shifted as previously indicated the treadle lever will receive movements corresponding to those of the member or lever 46 so that the harness frame 15 will be down for two picks and will then be up for two picks with corresponding movements on the part of harness frame 14. In order to be sure that the treadle lever 65 will be held in proper position as the key 69 shifts from one position to the other, the heads 71 and 72 are so proportioned that during a short interval when the change is being made both the key heads will be in their res ective slots, For instance, when shifting rom the position shown in Fig. 4 to that corresponding to the weaving of the borderthe head 71 will enter the slot 61 just before the head 72 passes out of slot 60. In this Way the treadle lever 65 is held against vertical motion and the key 69 is required always to register with one or the other of the slots 60 or 61.

From the foregoing it will be seen that I have provided a pair of actuating levers which operate in cycles of different numbers of picks and that the treadle lever which is directly connected to the harness frames can be connected operatively to either of these members: or levers, depending upon the character of goods being woven. It will further be seen that the shift of control from one member or lever to the other comes at a time when both the cams have their low parts adjacent the members or levers and that the latter may therefore be accurately placed by the stop screws. Itwill also be seen that the jacquard or other pattern mechanism which controls the shift is timed so as to move the key 69 from one position to the other while the members or levers are temporarily at rest. 1

Having thus described my invention it will be seen that changes and modifications may be made therein by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but what I claim is: V

1. In a harness motion for a loom having a pair of oppositely movable harness frames to be moved by a treadle lever, a pair of regularly moving cam levers, one of said levers having a complete cycle of motion in a given number of picks and the other lever having a cycle of movement completed in a different number of picks,

and means to operatively connect the treadle lever to either of said cam levers.

2. In a harness motion for a loom having a pair of oppositely movable harness frames to be moved by a treadle lever, a member having a regular movement which is completed in a given number of picks, a second member independent of the first named member and having a cycle of movement which is completed in a different number of picks, and means to establish driving connection between either member and the treadle lever.

3. In a harness motion for a loom having a pair of oppositely movable harness frames to be moved by a treadle lever, a member having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a given number of picks, a second member independent of the first member and having a cycle of motion which is completed in a different number of picks of the loom, there being a time in the cycles of motions when both members are temporarily at rest, means to establish operative connections between the treadle lever and either of said members, and mechanism to move the means when both said members are temporarily at rest.

4. In a harness motion for a loom having a pair of oppositely movable harness frames to be moved by a treadle lever, pattern mechanism, a regularly moving member having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a given number of picks of the loom, a second member independent of the first member and having a mot-ion the cycle of which is completed in a. different number of picks, and means controlled by the pattern mechanism to operatively connect the treadle lever with either of said members.

5. In a harness motion for a loom having a pair of oppositely movable harness frames to be moved by a treadle lever, pattern mechanism, a member having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a given number of picks of the loom, a second mem ber independent of the first member and having a motion the cycle of which is com pleted in a different number of picks of the loom, there being a time in the cycle of motion of both members when said members are temporarily at rest, and means controlled by thepattern mechanism' and 'operative when said members are at rest to operatively connect either member with the treadle lever.

6. In a harness motion for a loom having 'a pair of oppositely movable harness frames to be moved by a treadle lever, a member or lever having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a given number of picks of the loom, a second member or lever the motion of which is completed in a cycle of a difi'erent'number of picks of the loom, and a device movably mounted on and moving with the treadle lever and movable into operative relationship with either of said members, whereby either member may be made to move the treadle lever.

7 In a harness motion for a loom having a pair of oppositely movable harness frames to be moved by a treadlel lever, a member having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a given number of picks, a second member having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a different number of picks,

said members each being provided with a' slot, and a device movably mounted on the treadle lever and positioned to enter the slot of either member, said device moving with. and causing motion of the treadle lever when moved by one of the members.

8. In a harness motion for a loom having a pair of oppositely movable harness frames to be moved by a treadle lever, a member or lever having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a given number of picks of the loom, a second member having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a difierent number of picks of the loom, each member being provided with a slot, there being a time in the operation of the loom when both of said members or levers are temporarily at rest with the slots substantially in alignment, and a device movably mounted on and moving with the treadle lever capable of entering the slot of either member or lever when the members or levers are temporarily at rest to cause movement of the treadle lever by either member or lever.

9. In a harness motion for a loom having a pair of oppositely movable harness frames to be moved by a treadle lever, a member having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a given number of picks of the loom, a second member having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a different number of picks of the loom, each member-being provided with a slot, there being a time in the operation of the loom when both of said members are temporarily at rest, and a device movably mounted on. and moving with the treadle lever capable of entering the slot of either member when the members are temporarily at rest to cause movement of the treadle lever by either member.

10. In a harness motion for a loom having a 'pair of oppositely movable harness frames to be moved by a treadle lever, a member having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a given number of picks, a second member having a motion the cycleof which is completed in a different number of picks, each member being provided with a slot, and a connecting lever pivotally mounted on and moving with the treadle lever and proportioned to enter either slot to cause either member to move with the treadle lever. I

11. In a harness motion for a loom having a pair of oppositely movable harness frames to be moved by a treadle lever, a

member having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a given number of picks of the loom, a second member having a motion the cycle of whichis completed in a diiferent number of picks of the loom, a connecting lever pivoted to and moving with the treadle lever and normally operatively related to one of the members, and means to move said connecting lever relativelyto the treadle to have engagement with the other member, there being a time in thevmovement of the connecting lever when the same is temporarily in contact with both members.

12. In a harness motion for a loom having a pair of oppositely movable harness frames to be moved by a treadle lever, a member having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a given number of picks of the loom, a second member having a motion the cycle of which is completed in a different number of picks of the loom, each member being provided with a slot, a connecting lever pivotally mounted on and moving with the treadle lever and having a portion to enter the slot of the first named member and another portion to enter the slot of the second named member, and means to move the connecting lever relatively to the said member, there being a time in the movement of the connecting lever from one member to the other when said connecting lever has a portion thereof lying in each slot.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto afiixed by signature.

CHARLES R. HOWVARD. 

